Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials have announced plans to hunt coyotes in northern Colorado Springs after a 4-year-old girl was seriously injured in an attack.
The girl was with another child on Thanksgiving when they approached a coyote crouching behind a tree and thought it was a dog. The coyote lunged at the girl and bit her in the back of the head, causing injuries that required an overnight hospital stay.
“This could have been much worse – a tragedy – if the child’s father had not acted so quickly to stop the attack, save his daughter and deter the coyote,” said Tim Kroening, Parks and Wildlife’s area manager for the Pikes Peak region. said in a press release.
The attack took place in a neighborhood near the Air Force Academy, east of Monument Creek and Interstate 25. Because it would be impossible to identify the coyote that bit the girl, the agency said it would kill any coyote that found it in the area of attack. attack. The animals’ bodies will be tested for the presence of human DNA and diseases such as rabies.
Coyotes are naturally afraid of humans, but may attack when they are sick, being fed or protecting their young, the state said. If residents see coyotes in populated areas, they should scare them off by yelling or throwing rocks.
“We don’t yet know what brought the coyote into the yard with this child… but it is an important reminder for everyone to be alert and keep wildlife away from their homes and neighborhoods,” Kroening said.
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